Captive Angel
by Shalesia19
Summary: Dominique Piers is a young nurse who is deceived and captured by a demon she attempted to save during the aftermath of the destruction of Limbo City. Forced into slavery, she is set to be auctioned off to the highest bidder because of her beauty and mysterious ancestry. Through a turn of events, she is instead presented before the current most powerful demon lord; Vergil.
1. Chapter 1

I hope you enjoy my story and please review!

**Thoughts**

"Talking"

Chapter 1

Head throbbing and back aching, my legs finally gave out as I plopped down into my dated swivel chair. A sigh of pure exhaustion passed my lips as I peeked over the counter of the nurses' desk. Through half-lidded eyes, I made out the blurs of rapidly moving bodies and the constant beeping and ringing of medical equipment. The smell of blood tainted the air as I watched my fellow nurses go to work on injuries ranging from severe to nearly fatal.

Sleep deprivation was getting the best of me as my body physically and mentally began to slow down; instead of my usual 20/20 vision, it was as if I was looking through frost glass. I lulled my head to the right as I saw what appeared to be a man stumbling through the nursing home's automatic doors. Straining my eyes, I made out that he was carrying an unconscious child who had a large gash on his forehead. Realizing that no one was free to help them, I tightened my grip on the chair's arm rests.

**What the hell am I doing! **I drew in a sharp breath and willed myself to stand. Fighting against gravity for several seconds, I was stopped by a firm hand that came down onto my shoulder.

"And what exactly do you plan to do in your condition?" I snapped my head to the left to see that Ms. Jenkins, my supervisor and fellow registered nurse, was standing over me. She took in the dark circles that stained the brown skin beneath my redden eyes. "You've been up for days, Piers. I've got this; you rest." My body was already relaxing as I pondered turning a blind eye to the situation. **Tempting offer…**

A small smile played on my lips as I placed my hand over hers. "Now what kind of nurse would I be… if I slept while people in front of me are suffering?" I struggled to stand to my feet and ignored her as she shook her head in disapproval.

"You're one hard headed child, you know that Piers," Ms. Jenkins answered with her hand on her hip. She gave me a stoic look that was laced with worry. As we hurried over to the man holding the child I merely chuckled in response.

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Several of my thick, long dreadlocks had managed to escape the high bun atop my head; they were now adorning my tired face. Looking down, I saw that my once crisp, white scrubs were now soiled with multiple blood stains; a few of which were fresh. Stepping into the hall and placing my back against the wall, I slowly slid to the floor and pulled my knees to my chest. For the first time in what seemed like forever, the nursing home was peaceful again.

Finally, I allowed my eyes to close and my head fell to rest on my knees.

"Get up Piers… there's a spare bed in the room two doors down." I didn't have to look up to know that it was Ms. Jenkins; she sounded just as tired as I felt. I shook my head weakly from side to side and declined her offer.

"And take the bed of a potential patient? You know we have people rushing in at night as well." After a few seconds, I hear her sit down next to me on the floor; I let out a quick laugh.

"What joke am I missing out on Piers?" Ms. Jenkins had leaned back against the wall beside me with her legs out in front of her. Instead of the modern scrubs look, Ms. Jenkins kept it old school with the traditional white dress uniform and hat. She was so seasoned and proper; I thought it funny that she was sitting on the floor and speaking to me informally. She wasn't the type to let her title and experience go to her head, but she certainly didn't take crap in any shape or form.

"I never thought I'd be sleeping on the job with "Iron Will Jenkins" at my side," I whispered with a smirk.

A few seconds of silence pass between us, but it's nothing uncomfortable. "How you still manage to laugh when all hell seems to have literally broken loose is beyond me," she said with a sigh.

Thinking back on the last few days, I understood what she meant. Demons had seemly appeared out of nowhere and were flooding urban cities like this one in mass waves. Along with widespread panic, there were several casualties and demon attacks reported. Overnight, police forces became virtually useless, the hospitals were over flooded (significantly with patients from the recently destroyed Limbo City), and smaller facilities like this one were flipped into improvised hospitals.

I lifted my head to have it rest on her shoulder. "Well it's not like the bible didn't warn us about demons and other supernatural stuff existing… plus I like to focus on the positive things in life when situations go from bad to worse."

She took a few seconds to absorb and process my answer. "Well I pray that this is as worse as it gets."

I nodded in agreement with closed eyes.

Before I realized it, Ms. Jenkins was pulling me over to rest my head on her lap; she undid my bun and gently parted my dreads until they were loose and free flowing. "Piers… you're a fine nurse and I wish I would've told you so earlier." I smile at her praise. "Thank-." "But you're a fool for staying up three days straight; now sleep… and I'm not asking."

I let out another short lived laugh as sleep over took me.

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I woke with a start and heard Ms. Jenkins softly snoring above me. Quietly, as not to disturb her, I stood to my feet and headed toward the main entrance of the facility. As I walked, I passed several rooms containing stabilized patients, a couple of their surviving relatives, and a few over worked nurses dozing off. I figured everyone would take advantage of the rare moment of tranquility and wasn't shocked when I saw that no one was keeping a look out for any new patients that may come running in.

As I passed the welcome desk, I saw that Gina, our middle-aged secretary, was fast asleep. Over the past few days she had become an honorary nursing assistant; a position that was overwhelming and way out of her job description.

**I'll cut her some slack.**

Passing through the automated doors, I sat down on one of the benches in front of the building. The sun was just about to rise and the dark sky ahead was getting its first hints of bright yellow. I slumped back into the bench and looked out into the darkened parking lot. Passed it, I could make out a line of abandoned cars on the road and several buildings across the street that had been raided and vandalized. I thank God that this nursing home had yet to be targeted.

**So this is the world we now live in…** My vision fell downward to my hands resting on my lap; they were dotted with drops of dried blood. Without the adrenaline rush of work and the numbing effect of sleep deprivation distracting me, I started to think about my family… and if they were safe.

**Mom, Dad… **Flashes of the news reports showing people being torn apart and killed by demons raced through my mind. **Please… **My hands clasped together and began to shake; hot tears fell down my cheeks. **Please! Please, God… Let them be okay!**

My entire body shook with helplessness and fear for my loved ones.

**Why… why did I have to go off and leave them! I should've stayed home… now they're on the other side of the freaking country and I have no idea whether they're still alive or not. **As I tried in vain to stifle my sobs, my mind began to imagine demons and, hell, even other people attacking my parents.

**Stop! **My hands flew up to either side of my head and I screwed my eyes shut. **I can't and I won't think like this! They're alive! They just have to be! **Taking deep breathes through my nose I began to calm down; it took several minutes of effort to cease my shaking. Refusing to look at my hands, I forcefully rubbed them against my uniform, hoping to wipe away the blood from my skin.

"Help…" I froze.

"Please… help," pleaded a weak voice. I shot up from my seat and took a few steps toward the parking lot. "Hello! Is somewhere there? Where are you," I called out. I was answered by a string of haggard coughs. "Where are you," I shouted again. I started walking toward the right side of the building; it sounded like the coughing was coming from that direction.

I stopped for a few seconds and thought about going back inside for help. Again, I heard the violent coughing coming from the other side of the building. **Who's to say this guy won't die while I'm going back inside to get help? And if he's in serious need of medical attention, Gina's not going to cut it!**

"Here…," the voice croaked. After a few swift strides, I came upon a man sitting against the side of the building. He was one of the homeless men I would usually see wondering the streets asking for money. His long, dirty blonde hair was mostly covered by a grey skull cap and his unkempt bangs hid his eyes. He was dressed in a navy blue sweat shirt that was riddled with small holes and stains; his grey sweat pants looked no better.

His left hand was clutching his side so tightly that the skin across his knuckles had whitened; his breathing was also quick and shallow.

"Oh God…" I saw a blood stain fanning out quickly across the area of the shirt he was gripping. Dropping to my knees, I pulled off my scrubs top, lifted his shirt, and pressed my top to his open wound. While applying pressure, I raised my left hand and beat it against the window over his head.

"Someone; anyone; please help!" I continued to beat on the window until I felt his hand over my right one. My eyes came back to his which were hidden behind his hair; his breathing was getting weaker. "Miss…" "Sir, please; just stay with me, okay! You're going to be just fine; I promise you! Just concentrate on breathing and don't try to talk." I returned to rapping my fist against the glass.

"Help! Anyone! Please!" Mind fully preoccupied at the moment, I barely made out the words he was whispering under his breathe.

"So… beautiful…" He slowly lifted his calloused right hand up to my face and rested it on my cheek. I flinched at the unwarranted contact. "Sir?" I give him a majority of my attention.

"You were always very kind to me… giving me money… always smiling." "Sir, please don't talk," I pleaded. "Even now, you came to help me. When others turned away… so pure…" My brows knit together in confusion at his words and I stopped beating on the window. **Something… isn't right.**

His hand slid down my cheek and neck to rest on my t-shirt over my heart. "So… naïve." **What… **Following the trail of his arm, I looked down and saw that my scrubs top wasn't soaked in blood like it should be; it was dry as a bone. "What," I said breathlessly as my eyes widen in shock. I lifted my head to look into his eyes; I felt myself shaking again.

"Oh, no my dear; please, don't be afraid." He placed his left hand on the right side of my head and ran it through my dreads. "I won't hurt you." He was so close; so close that I was able to see past his bangs and… there was nothing there. It was as if someone had erased the upper half of his face.

"You see… you are worth far more to me alive then dead." A wide grin stretched across his lips and his teeth were no longer human like; I could make out several rows of sharpen canines. Tears began to prick at the corners of my eyes.

"No, no; do not cry. I won't hurt you. I have not forgotten the kindness you have showed me in the past; in a way, my plan for you will be sort of like a reward. You will never have to want for anything again in your life."

My mind hardly registered his words as I was utterly petrified with terror. Through his bangs, I could see a fold of skin forming across his forehead; it split open to reveal a large eyeball with a blood red iris. Without warning, its pupil constricted and I instantly fell unconscious.

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The first thing I noticed was the feel of cold, hard cement biting into my bare flesh. I had finally awoken after God knows how long, but was finding it difficult to open my eyes. Despite the pounding pain in the back of my skull, I was able make out bits of a hushed conversation in the distance. **Uuhhh… where the hell am I, **I internally groaned.

My limbs had gone stiff from prolonged disuse, so I decided to stretch out across the floor; immediately, I tensed in shock. **What the- what the hell?! **My eyelids flew open at the sting of iron shackles gnawing at my wrists. Looking around frantically, I realized that I was in some kind of medieval prison away, I tried moving my legs and calling for help, but it was no use; my ankles were bound in a similar manner as my wrists and a gag muffled my voice.

I began to violently jerk my body in a vain attempt at freedom, but gave up after a few moments. Eyes now open, I realized that I was completely nude; my long dreads were draped over my bare skin and provided little coverage. Fear and confusion erupted inside me as I hastily shifted to lie on my stomach; hoping to hide my front from view. **Where the hell am I! What the hell is going on, **I screamed in my head; tears welling up in my eyes. They widen as I noticed approaching footsteps.

"Ah! I see that you are awake Ms. Piers," a sickeningly delighted voice cheered. I heard his hands clap once in approval and I reluctantly turned my head towards the voice. I gasped as I saw the homeless "man" standing on the other side of the bars encasing me.

Gone were his sweat pants, shirt, and skull cap in favor of an all-black, three-piece suit. His head was devoid of any hair and he was proudly sporting his enormous, single red eye and a smile that could rival that of the Cheshire cat. I shiver at his appearance. Crouching to his knees, he stretched out one of his abnormally long arms through the bars and pulled the gag from my mouth.

Hesitantly, I asked,"W-what do you want with me? Why am I here?" My voice was weak and dripping in fear; his grin grew wider with satisfaction.

"This gentleman," he said while gesturing toward the creature towering above him, "is a client of main."

"You see Ms. Piers, my I call you Dominique? It's such a lovely name." I stared back into his eye without answering; terror practically tangible.

"You may not have noticed Dominique, but I am a business man,"He informed as he stood to his feet. "I find beautiful and rare creatures, such as yourself, and share my discoveries with the world by selling them. As you can imagine I have a fine eye for detail," he added while laughing at his own joke.

**Oh no… please no… **He whipped a tear from the corner of his eye and turned back to me. A frown befell his lips as he seemed to finally acknowledge my distress. "Do not fret my dear," he advised while squatting down again.

"This man is one of my best customers and not only is he paying me a generous sum of money for you," his smile returning, "he is so pleased with your beauty that he is going to have you as the center piece of his next auction."

My eyes grew wider and the tears had finally fallen. "Dominique, please; tears do not hinder your allure, but they cannot compete with your smile." He reached out to touch my cheek and I flinched away.

"No…," I said with more strength. "No! You can't do this to me!" I yelled, looking between both demons with a shred of defiance in my eyes.

His slender hands gripped my chin in a rapid display of movement, forcing my eyes to meet his. All traces of playfulness were replaced with a fiercely overwhelming aura of ruthlessness. "You don't have a choice," he snarled baring his rows of sharpen teeth.

This time he didn't have to use his powers to silence me; I fainted.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for the wait (whoever's reading this :P). I wanted this to be the chapter that Dominique and Vergil meet, but things (my psych exam, essays) keep getting in the way of my free time :(. Anyway I hope you enjoy and please review :)

PS. Thank you to those who reviewed/faved/are following this! (Makes me happy ^/^)

**Thoughts**

"Talking"

Chapter 2

After several hours of dreamless sleep, I finally awoke again. Eyes closed and body slackened, I stretched out my stiff limbs and rolled unto my back. A silent yawn escaped my lips before I cut it short. Visions of the one eyed demon's snarl flooded my mind and I tensed in fear. Fixing my eyes shut, I worked to calm my heart; it was nearly pounding out of my chest. Instinctively, I placed my hand over it.

**Wait… **No shackles. My breathing picked up again as I noticed that I was no longer lying on cold cement; in fact, it felt like just the opposite. My back was being cushioned by the softness of several throw pillows and the room I was placed in had a pleasant, warm temperature. My brows relaxed and my mind lingered on the supposedly impossible.

**Was it… all a dream? **Slowly, my eyelids opened and I prayed that somehow I had made it back to my cozy studio apartment; that the heater was merely set a few degrees higher than usual. Instead, my gaze fell upon a spacious, but dimly lit room. Looking around I saw that I had been sleeping in one of its four corners; all of which were crowded with various fluffy looking floor and throw pillows and intricately patterned quilts. **Crap… **The room also lacked windows and provided one, impenetrable seeming, door. I stiffened when I noticed movement from the other three corners of the room.

Cautiously, I sat up to get a better look around; the quilt that had covered me slipped down and I gasped. Besides a simple gold collar and some of my dreadlocks falling in front of my chest, I was stark naked.

**What the hell! Again! **I hastily wrapped the quilt around me and fashioned it into a dress. My cheeks continued to burn with embarrassment as I heard muffled giggles coming from the other side of the room. I froze in place.

"You're ah funny one aren't cha?" The voice was cheery and child-like; I allowed myself to relax a little.

"O-one what," I asked nervously. I could make out the shape of a child's head as it popped up from underneath the mountain of pillows. "You know silly! A human," she chuckled. **A human...? Wait, then she's not…** Her vision was apparently way better than mine as I barely made out her head tilting in curiosity. "Wow," she exclaimed as she exploded from pillows. She scampered across the room toward where I was sitting and I jumped back out of surprise, back colliding with the wall. Seeing my distress, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"What's the matter," she asked innocently; I could hear the frown in her voice as her twin tails swayed behind her. Overcome with panic, I pressed into the wall.

"Leave her alone Naveen," instructed an older voice gruggily. My eyes flew from the demon child to the far right corner of the room. "All you're doing is scaring the hell out of her." The voice belonged to a slender figure who was sitting up on her pile of pillows; she sported long, black hair and skin so white it glowed in the darkened room.

Naveen took a step back and I turned to face her again. Her shoulders had visibly slumped as her tails lay limply on the carpeted floor. "I'm sorry," she whispered with genuine regret. "You're just so pretty… I wanted to get a closer look at you."

As she turned toward her corner of the room, I could see she too wore a collar of gold and nothing else. **This… "child" is not with the Cyclops guy? **"Wait!" Naveen's tails bolted up in surprise and she whirled around. "Yes," she asked with revived enthusiasm.

"You're not with that Cyclops guy… are you?" Her head tilted again and her tails began to move about excitedly.

"Cyclops guy? I don't know a Cyclops guy. You mean a demon with one eye? Hey! Hey! Jade has a Cyclops eye! Well not really; she has two eyes and another one on her forehead. But the guy who brought us here sealed it up! Right Jade?" Naveen turned toward the woman with the porcelain skin. It was obvious she was trying to ignore us and get some sleep, but that wasn't going to happen. She groaned in defeat and stood up to walk toward us.

I tried to stay calm as she got close enough for me to get a good look at her; Naveen took Jade's advances as her chance to get closer to me as well.

Now that they were only a foot or so in front of me, I could distinguish their features more accurately. Naveen looked to be no older than any eleven year old human girl… except that she wasn't human. In place of hair, her skin was layered with a coat of smooth, tri-colored fur; her chest being mostly white, her back being black, and bits of brown adorned her face and dotted her back. Her ears were on the sides of her head, but were elf-like and covered in brown fur. Upon further inspection, I saw that one of her eyes was blue and the other green; both contained impossibly wide pupils.

Jade brought her fist down on top of Naveen's head and the child grasped it in pain. "OOOWWWW! Jade what was that for," she yelled in discomfort. The taller woman simply crossed her arms and locked eyes with the smaller.

"One, you didn't listen to me about leaving her alone, and two, you were disturbing my afternoon nap," she replied with explicit irritation. Naveen retorted with a series of whines and whimpers as Jade ground her fist playfully into the child's head. Forgetting my fear of them for a few moments, I loosen up as their banter continued.

With a sigh of annoyance, Jade ran a long hand through her extensive curtain of black hair. I took the opportunity to study her facial features; mostly to look for her third eye. Aside from her shockingly pale skin, red eyes, and the large bandage over her forehead she looked like an ordinary woman; well except for being exceptionally beautiful. My gaze lingered a little too long on her concealed third eye and our eyes meet.

I looked down to cease my gawking and apologized for my rudeness. "Hmmm." I turned to Jade as she sat down next to me on my pile of pillows; she gave me a once over and I started to feel unsettled and surprisingly self-conscious. "Interesting… Naveen wasn't kidding," she stated nonchalantly.

"About what," I asked with new found control over my voice. She laid back unto her elbows before answering and a blush creeped up my neck; I focused my eyes ahead. **Jeez… you're necked and you're not even going try to cover up!**

"Broad lips, almond shaped eyes, long lashes, high cheek bones, and a button nose. Plus a slim, pear-shaped figure. You're quite a looker; probably worth a small fortune sense this place doesn't sell regular humans."

**Sell! **My stomach twisted into knots and my face slipped into a frown. "Hey, you okay?" Naveen placed one of her large paws to my forehead and I flinched. "Humans do this to see if another is sick right?" Jade's eyebrow twitched in irritation and she flicked Naveen's forehead with one of her long, manicured fingers. "OOOWWWW! Jade! What'd I do now?" Naveen placed both her paws over her injured forehead.

"You creeped her out again; that's what." Naveen's face fell and she looked to me for confirmation. Her expression was priceless; I couldn't help but laugh. "It's okay… and thank you for your concern," I answered while failing to stifle my laughs. Naveen turned to Jade with a huge grin. "See! She was totally fine with it!"

"Please; she's just too nice to call a brat like you creepy."

"Brat?! I'm three hundred years old," she countered. I raised my eyebrows in shock. "Are you serious," I questioned. Shifting to me, Naveen puffed out her chest; as if taking pride in being the eldest. "Sure am!"

"You're still a brat," Jade informed coldly. "Am not! Tell her- um. What's your name again," she inquired with embarrassment in her tone. "Dominique," I replied with a smile. She returned my answer with an even greater grin. "Yeah; tell her Dominique!" As they went back and forth again I continued to laugh; I didn't notice the fourth occupant of the room waking in the far left corner.

"How sweet; everyone's getting all buddy-buddy before we get sold off like cattle." I turned my head toward the left as Naveen moved to duck behind Jade. I was about to ask her what's wrong before the other woman literally slithered over to us. The skin of her arms, bust, forehead and cheeks were concealed by thick yellow-green scales and her platinum blonde, shoulder-length hair was combed back away from her face. My eyes widen as I took in the lengthy tail that coiled underneath her.

"So you're the new girl," she stated with an unimpressed tone. The pupils of her grey colored irises narrowed into fine slits. "And here I thought they would bring in someone worth having a conversation with." Her torso lifted off her tail and she sat to my left; her closeness was making Naveen tremble. I worked to stay calm on the surface, but Jade had me beat; her face was completely stoic.

"You know three eyes is right… they don't let normal humans in here; so what's your secret?" I tensed at her question. For the first time, I remembered the Cyclops's words about collecting rare creatures. **That's impossible.**

"They must be mistaken then. Me and my family are completely human," I stated; proud that my voice and eyes did not waver under her gaze. A wide smirk formed on her lips, revealing slanted teeth and one of her elongated fangs; that time I shivered. "I bet," she added with a hint of snarkiness.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get back to my beauty rest; keep it down," she commanded while making her way back to her own corner.

"Pfft, all the sleep in the world won't help that ugly mug," Jade commented under her breath. Naveen's trembling had disappeared along with the snake woman and she moved to sit between me and Jade. Smile back in place, she let out a powerful yawn, but rubbing the lid of her blue eye. "Bed time again, brat?" She shook her head in a weak show of defiance, but eventually laid her head onto Jade's lap; after a few minutes she was out like a light. I couldn't bring myself to share in her relief. Jade was now stroking the short, soft fur atop her head.

"Jade… do you know where we are?" She gave me a look that said she was dreading having to answer my question.

She huffed and sat up carefully as to not wake Naveen. "This room is one of several where they hold "rare finds" like us." I guessed as much, but my stomach clenched regardless. "I'm guessing there's no way out of here," I inquired while grasping onto a shred of hope.

"There would be if this seal wasn't holding back my powers… or if these collars wouldn't electrocute the hell out of us if we so much as tried to escape. Shanti-that Lamia over there-has the most resistance to the collars, but, as you may have guessed, she's not keen on working together." My heart sank at her words and a shiver echoed through me as I thought of the collar around my neck.

"So now what? Do we just wait here?"

Her eyes glowed and her pupils constricted to pin pricks. "They'll be coming for us soon; I can sense the guards outside the door."

"W-what do they want with us?"

Jade looked down at Naveen and her thin brows knit together. "To sell us like cattle."

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Jade was right. In less than twenty minutes, the dense door in front of us did open. It revealed a hand full of large men with piercing black eyes dressed in all black dress shirts and pants; each had tiny horns sprouting from their foreheads. Without putting up resistance, Jade gently nudged Naveen awake and stood to her feet. Naveen followed her example, but clung to her; the guards unsettled her. One of them thought this to be humorous and moved to pull them apart. Naveen put up a good fight before another guard retrieved a small remote from his pocket and pressed one its buttons. She collapsed to the floor while twitching frantically.

"Naveen!" I rushed to sit next to her on the floor and gathered her in my arms. She looked to be drifting in and out of consciousness, but no one else seemed to care. "On your feet," commanded the guard with the remote. I looked up to see his finger hovering dangerously over its buttons. I turned to Jade who was facing forward and acting as if nothing was amiss.

Turning back to him, we locked eyes as I stood up and lifted Naveen into my arms. "May I carry her to where ever you are taking us?" I worked to keep my voice even. "Sure, just lose the quit," another guard answered. He was the demon who had pulled Naveen away from Jade and his tone made my skin crawl. I quickly shifted my attention back toward the one with the remote; he was obviously the one in charge. "Lose it," he stated icily.

I shifted Naveen to my hip and undid the quit from around my body; it fell to the floor and pooled at my feet. "Damn! Do we really have to sell this one," the other guard asked disappointingly. My eyes fell to the floor and humiliation washed over me. The grip I had on Naveen tightened.

"Secure the snake woman," the leader replied ignoring his subordinate's question. As the two men headed over toward the far left corner, the leader turned back to us. "Follow me and don't even think about running."

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After walking for several minutes through a maze of white corridors we finally came upon a door that had two more guards standing out in front of it. Stopping in front of the door, the lead guard turned to face us.

"Each of you will be escorted through this door that leads to a staircase to the main stage. On stage, you will walk toward the speaker and stand on an 'x' on the floor at the stage's center. You will face the audience and stand up straight. You will not speak, you will not try to cover yourself, and you will not try to run. All three of these actions will result in punishment or death depending on how my employer feels." His sharp eyes turned to me. "Wake her up and put her down."

My brows creased with worry, but I did whisper to Naveen to wake up. She jolted awake, but tensed as she saw the guards ahead of us. I gently set her onto the ground and pet her head. "You have to be calm Naveen; I don't want you to be hurt again. Do you understand?"

Naveen's ears and tail were downcast in fear as she saw Jade walk through the door, but she nodded her head yes.

"Next." The lead guard looked at me expectantly and I reluctantly stepped forward. Entering the room, I spotted the staircase to my left and gulped back my raising anxiety. One of the guards led me by the forearm up the steps and moved to hold back the large curtain in front of us.

"Go," he instructed harshly.

I flinched, but refused to freeze up out of fear of punishment. I didn't know what to expect as I stepped out onto the stage.


End file.
